System and method for betting

ABSTRACT

In various aspects there are provided a system, method, and an apparatus for playing a betting game in conjunction with the play of a sporting event. The apparatus may include a system and/or a computer program product for playing a better game, such as roulette, which may be played in combination with watching a sporting event, such as cricket. Related methods, systems, apparatus, and/or articles are also described.

FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to a system and method for betting ona game, more particularly, to betting on a game wherein the betcorresponds to a result in a sporting event, such as cricket match.

BACKGROUND

Betting on the outcome of events has increased dramatically inpopularity over the years. The outcome of events has importance bothcommercially in business and socially for entertainment. Sport inparticular has increased in popularity over the years. Sports matchesare now regularly attended and viewed by many either in person or via TVor computer based media.

-   Amongst the most popular sporting events viewed include cricket,    rugby, football, baseball, field hockey, ice hockey, basketball,    darts, motor racing, sailing, cycling, American football, golf,    tennis, field and track athletics, snooker and basketball.

All sports include as a basis a competition either between competitorsor between an individual and pre-defined goal. One such popular sportinggame is cricket. Cricket is a team sport played with a bat and a ball ona cricket field, which is in the shape of an oval. The teams includeeleven players a side. A first team bats, and tries to score runs, whilean opposing team bowls and fields, trying to get the first teamdismissed. The key action takes place on the “pitch.” The pitch is thecentral most part of the field that has been specially prepared. It isrectangular, about 22 yards in length, and at each end are placed“wickets,” . The wickets are placed behind a boundary termed the“crease” and include three vertical stumps positioned apart from oneanother and two horizontal bails, which are positioned on top of and inbetween the stumps. The wicket serves as a target for the bowler, e.g.,pitcher, of the fielding side and are defended by the batter of thebatting side. The bowler from the fielding side attempts to throw theball at the wicket in such a manner that the ball displaces the bailsfrom the stumps. The primary concern of the batsman is to guard thewicket and prevent the ball from hitting the wicket. In addition toprotecting the wicket, the secondary concern of the batsman is to scoreruns by hitting the ball with his bat so that he has time to run fromone end of the pitch to the other before the fielding side can returnthe ball.

A run may be scored in two ways. A run may be scored when the batsmanhits the ball and has subsequently run the length of the pitch. A runmay also be scored when the batter hits the ball in a manner that itreaches the boundary of the field. If a hit ball does cross the boundarythe batting team is automatically awarded runs. Four runs are scored ifthe ball touches the ground en route to the boundary, and six runs arescored if the ball clears the boundary in the air without touching theground on route. The batsman does not need to run if the ball reaches orcrosses the boundary. The bowling side seeks to dismiss the batsmen byvarious means until the batting side is all out, whereupon the side thatwas bowling takes its turn to bat and the side that was batting musttake the field. Winning the game is achieved by scoring the most runs.

Another such popular sport is Golf. Players aim to navigate through around of 18 holes in the lowest number of shots. Each hole is shapeddifferently and of different lengths comprising a tee, a fairway and agreen. Each hole is situated on a green, on which the player uses aputter to roll the ball into the hole. The green can be of differentshapes with dips and bumps and its grass is cut closely.

Another such popular sport is Motor Racing. Forms of racing couldinclude bikes or cars in a number of different forms such as touringcars, formula 1/2/3 & 4, super bikes etc. Teams nominate drivers todrive the bikes and cars around tracks that form unique patterns. A racewill be of a certain length or number of laps and drivers compete to winthe race and the corresponding points for such a win. Each lap time isrecorded by computer and is shown to the team and spectators. Duringsuch a race drivers will briefly interrupt the race and come into anarea known as the pits. Here the team's mechanics can refuel the bike orcar, change parts of the bike or car and fix any parts before sendingthe driver back out onto the track.

Another such popular sport is baseball. Baseball is a bat-and-ball sportplayed between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runsby hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four basesarranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players onone team (the batting team) take turns hitting against the pitcher ofthe other team (the fielding team), which tries to stop them fromscoring runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player onthe batting team can stop at any of the bases and later advance via ateammate's hit or other means. The teams switch between batting andfielding whenever the fielding team records three outs. One turn at batfor each team constitutes an inning and nine innings make up aprofessional game. The team with the most runs at the end of the gamewins. If a player hits the ball over the fence inside of the foul linesit is known as a home run and means the player can run all four bases toscore one run.

Also popular is roulette. Roulette is a casino game. It involves a wheelthat is demarcated with pockets that are both numbers and colours whichalternate between red and black (although other colour combinations arealso possible). A croupier spins the wheel in one direction and spins aball in the opposite direction around a tilted circular track runningaround the circumference of the wheel. In the game, players may chooseto place bets on either a number, a range of numbers, the colours red orblack, or whether the number is odd or even. The ball eventually losesmomentum and falls on to the wheel and into one of the coloured andnumbered pockets on the wheel.

Typically, roulette players make one or more of a variety of bets, whichbet attempts to predict into which pocket the ball will land. Forinstance, along with the spinning wheel, roulette is played with aroulette table upon which is a two-dimensional, rectangularrepresentation of the numbers on the roulette wheel. Generally, thereare two types of bets that can be made: inside and outside bets. Insidebets include straight up bets, split bets, street bets, corner bets, sixline bets, and trio bets. A straight-up bet is one or more single numberbets, wherein the bet is placed by selecting a single number pocket,which bet predicts the number of the pocket the ball falls into. A splitbet is a bet placed on two adjoining numbers, wherein the bet is placedby selecting adjoining numbers on the roulette table. A street bet is abet on three numbers. A corner (or square) is a bet on the corner offour numbers. A six line bet is a bet on a line of six numbers on thetable. A trio is a bet on an intersecting point. Outside bets include abet on a number between one to eighteen or a number between nineteen andthirty six. Other outside bets include a bet on either red or black,even or odd, or dozen bets, such as a bet on the first (1-12), second(13-24), or third group (25-36) of twelve numbers. A column bet may alsobe made, wherein a bet is placed on all 12 numbers on any of threevertical lines of numbers on the table.

As described above both cricket and roulette are popular games watchedand/or played independently. A computerised system and method forcombining the two games together would be useful. This would allowimproved player functionality and a more interactive and sociableexperience. The provision of such a computerised system may also beuseful as a training device to assist in teaching potential players ofthe sport which shots are considered hardest to place by virtue of theodds associated with them or to assess statistically which shots playersmost prefer to make. Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed toa system, method and apparatus for playing a betting game, such asroulette, wherein the bet corresponds to a result in a sporting event,such as a cricket match.

As discussed above, whilst various methods for placing bets exist, alldepend on the bet being placed far enough ahead of the event to allowthe bets to be collated and placed. It would be desirable to provide ameans and method of allowing bets to be placed in “real time” alongsidean event to allow for a more ongoing and interactive experience. Thiswould have a number of advantages including more regular placing of betstherefore allowing a continuous user system and a greater involvement inthe result generated by the event etc.

SUMMARY

The subject matter disclosed herein provides a computerised system and amethod for performing a betting game, such as roulette, which may beplayed in combination with an event for which an outcome can be bet on.In one such embodiment of the invention as provided herein there isprovided a computer program for use in a betting game which is played incombination with a sporting event. In one such embodiment the sportingevent is cricket, rugby, football, baseball, field hockey, ice hockey,basketball, darts, motor racing, sailing, cycling, American football,golf, tennis, field and track athletics, snooker, basketball. In oneembodiment of the invention as described herein the sport is cricket,motor racing golf or baseball. In a further embodiment the sport iscricket.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer-implemented apparatus for running a betting game in which userscan bet on a micro-event which occurs during a sporting event, theapparatus comprising: a feed content receiver and transformer arrangedto receive micro-event data in real time relating to a sporting event,which sporting event involves the repeated occurrence of a micro-eventin variable regions of a field of play and the micro-event datacomprising data fields relating to each individual occurrence andincluding an identification of an actual region of the field of playwhere the micro-event occurs; an adjudicator arranged to determine aresult of the micro-event using the micro-event data and a set of storedrules; and a client-side module arranged to receive bet-placing datafrom one or more users, the bet-placing data identifying a givenindividual occurrence of a micro-event and a bet type that areassociated with a region of the field of play; compare said received betdata with said determined result and to identify given bet data asconstituting a winning bet if the bet type corresponds to the actualregion of the field of play in the micro-event data for said givenindividual occurrence or else to identify said bet data as constitutinga losing bet.

Preferably, the apparatus further comprises a feed collator arranged to:determine whether a complete set of data relating to the micro-event hasbeen received and if any data is missing, request the missing data; andreceive any requested missing data. Preferably the feed collator isfurther arranged to: determine whether any duplicate data relating tothe micro-event has been received and if any has been received, processto leave remaining data; and collate the remaining data and any receivedmissing data. Thus the adjudicator can be arranged to use the collatedmicro-event data.

Suitably the feed content receiver and transformer comprises: a feedlistener arranged to receive micro-event data from a data feed when newmicro-event data is available; and a feed puller arranged to poll a datafeed for new micro-event data. The feed listener is preferably arrangedto receive micro-event data from a data feed at regular intervalsdetermined by a data source providing data through the data feed. Thefeed puller is preferably arranged to poll a data feed at regular timeintervals. Suitably the feed puller is arranged to poll a data feed attimes which differ from the times at which the feed listener is arrangedto receive micro-event data. Advantageously the feed collator isarranged to transmit data to the adjudicator.

Preferably the feed content receiver and transformer is arranged toreceive data from multiple data sources and transform the data into acommon format for use by the feed collator. Suitably the feed collatoris further arranged to determine whether received micro-event datarelates to a result of a micro-event and if it does, send collated datafor that micro-event to the adjudicator and otherwise send it to theclient-side module with an indication that bets can be re-opened for thenext micro-event. Advantageously the feed collator is arranged to usebet-placing data or information derived therefrom in the saiddetermination.

The stored rules used by the adjudicator can comprise rules relating toreliability of a data source. Advantageously the adjudicator is arrangedto continually or at intervals update the rules in dependence on thequality of data received from a data source.

Preferably the client-side module is arranged to accept bet-placing datain respect of a next micro event prior to the occurrence of the nextmicro-event and to determine when betting for the next micro-event isclosed. Suitably the client-side module is further arranged to apply abet to the next micro-event if betting for that micro-event is stillopen or otherwise to apply the bet to a subsequent micro-event,Advantageously the client-side module is arranged to provide bet-placingdata or information derived therefrom to the feed collator and to usedata provided from the adjudicator or the feed collator to determinewhether to re-open an existing bet or to open a new bet for the nextmicro-event. The client-side module can be further arranged to manageodds data for the betting game and to continually or at intervals updatethe odds data in dependence on any of the number and type of betsplaced; and in response to changing conditions of the sporting event.Such changing conditions of the sporting event comprise any of theweather, characteristics of the participants of a micro-event, and theground conditions pertaining to a particular micro-event.

Preferably the client-side module is further arranged to send a messageto each user via a user device, informing whether a bet placed was awinning or a losing bet. The client-side module can also be furtherarranged to manage an account for each user, including storing arepresentation of credit associated with each user and increasing ordecreasing the credit in response to a winning or a losing betrespectively. The apparatus can also be provided with a query functionthrough which the client-side module can receive and request informationregarding a micro-event.

Advantageously the apparatus comprises an archive database arranged tostore result data from multiple micro-events of multiple sporting eventsand bet data of one or more users.

The event is usually a sporting event. In one embodiment the server isconfigured for receiving data in real time relating to both an event(outcome data) and bet-placing data (user data) from said clients.

The said client application can provide a user interface. The clientapplication is suitably hosted on a client device which can be anysuitable device for generating and/or displaying a generated page at auser interface. In one embodiment of the invention as described hereinthe client device is selected from but not limited to a computer, anelectronic game console, a telephone, a smart phone such as an iPhone orAndroid phone, a personal data assistant (PDA) such as a Blackberry aTelevision or other monitor such as touchscreens. Other such devicesknown in the art may also be considered. In one such embodiment theclient application is run using television or online using the internetor using mobile connectivity such as 30, wireless, Ethernet or broadbandconnectivity.

The client application can be configured for receiving user entereddata, processing said data and storing said data. In addition the clientapplication acts as a data provider to transmit said user data to theserver.

The server may be implemented as one or more processors and/or computersand/or memories The client application may be coupled to the serverthrough a network of computers via a wireless or wired Internet ormobile network. In one embodiment the computerised system as hereindescribed includes at least one processor and at least one memory.

In a further embodiment the server is able to provide operations. Forexample one such operation is the generation of a page for presentationat the user interface. For example in a specific embodiment theoperation provides a page including a representation of a cricket fieldand a boundary that is divided into one or more segments.

In one embodiment the number of segments which a boundary is dividedinto is at least 4, or is at least 6 or is at least 8 or is at least 10or is at least 12, or is at least 16 or is at least 18 or is at least 20or is at least 50.

In one embodiment of the invention as described herein the event is asports event. In a further embodiment the sports event is cricket,rugby, motor racing or golf. In a specific embodiment of the inventionthe sports event is cricket.

The client application can be considered to work as a data provider totransmit user data. The user data may pertain to a prediction as towhether an event has been deemed to have occurred and an amount to bewagered on whether said event has occurred. If a plurality of outcomesis available the bet data may additionally include a differing level ofodds according to the possible outcomes which may be achieved.

For example in one such embodiment a possible outcome is that aprojectile will cross the boundary at a particular segment and an amountto be wagered on such an event occurring can be made. If a plurality ofsegments are provided, then the user data may additionally include aprediction pertaining to which segment of the boundary the projectilewill cross. For instance, the boundary may comprise a circumferencehaving a plurality of segments arranged along the boundary. In oneembodiment the segments are of equal size. In yet another embodiment thesegments are not equal in size. The boundary may be overlaid upon afield of play and each of the segments may include a predefined value,such as a value that represents the probability that the projectile willcross that segment. For example, the predefined value may represent theodds that the projectile will cross into the segment as against all ofthe other segments. In certain instances, the segments may be numberedand alternatively coloured so as to resemble a roulette wheel, and mayfurther be configured such that if a projectile crosses the segment thesegment is triggered so as to indicate that the projectile crossed thatsegment.

In one embodiment of the invention as herein described the feed contentreceiver and transformer comprises a feed listener and feed puller.

In an alternative embodiment the computerised system provides anauthentication and authorization system to restrict user access. Userscan connect to the betting server over a number of client devices whichhosts the client application via the internet, iPhone or other devicesto place, review and collect their bets.

In one such embodiment the computerised system provides the ability forusers to create player profiles and account creation and registrationservices to support initial user setup. A password is required forsecurity and communication is sent via secure means.

In a further embodiment of the invention as described herein the userinterface may be provided at a single or a plurality of clients. In apreferred embodiment the user interface is provided as a plurality ofclients. Where a plurality of clients is provided the server compilesthe user data of the clients and generates odds data pertaining to apredicted outcome selected by both clients. Hence, the odds data isrepresentative of a weight given to the bet of one client over thatgiven to another client. The weight of the actual outcome data providedby a data provider may also be weighted. For instance, where the actualoutcome data pertains to a designation of a given outcome, the actualoutcome data provided by the data provider may be weighted according towhether the designated outcome actually occurred or not. For example, ifthe predicted outcome does actually occur, more weight may be given to afuture designation by that data provider. However, if the predictedoutcome does not actually occur, less weight may be given to a futuredesignation by the data provider. Where a plurality of data providers isprovided, the data providers may be ranked according to the weightattributed to their outcome data.

In yet a further embodiment the event involves the projection of atleast one object by one or more players in a variable direction relativeto a field of play towards a boundary of said field of play, and saidoutcome data comprises data fields relating to each individualprojection, including an actual portion of the boundary where the objectcrosses said boundary.

In one embodiment the sport is baseball and the said repeated occurrenceof a micro-event is a home run being hit and the said region of thefield of play is a portion of the fence.

In another embodiment the sport is golf and the said repeated occurrenceof a micro-event is a ball being hit onto the putting green and the saidregion of the field of play is an area of the green.

In yet another embodiment the sport is horseracing and the said repeatedoccurrence of a micro-event is a horse arriving or falling and the saidregion of the field of play is the end of a furlong or a fence.

For each sporting event, the game can generate a representation of theground where the game takes place and the boundary of the ground isorganised into segments. Such segments can be equal or different insize. In one embodiment the segments are of equal size. The number ofsegments can be varied. In one embodiment the boundary is divided intoat least 2 segments, or at least 6 segments or at least 8 segments or atleast 10 segments or at least 12 segments or at least 16 segments or atleast 18 segments or at least 20 segments or at least 24 segments or atleast 40 segments or at least 50 segments. In one such embodiment theboundary is divided into 18 segments.

In one embodiment the event is cricket. For each ball bowled the oddschange to reflect the immediate players who will affect the outcome ofthe score. We achieve this by taking each first class cricketer'scricketing statistics and creating a persona for each person. Thisincludes their handedness (left/right hand batsman/bowler), where hebats, bowls and what style of cricketer he is. So for example, Straussis a left hand opening batsman and Swann is a right hand spin bowler.

The players data is then taken from the facing batsman, non-facingbatsman, batsman about to come in, ball number in the over and currentbowler. The blend of these stats will then produce a set of oddsaccording to the number of segments the boundary is divided into. Forexample in one embodiment a set of 18 odds is produced, which areautomatically displayed on the client device.

Players can place bets at any point throughout the game on any number ofsegments. Their bets stay on until there is a boundary (ie. Players arebetting on the next boundary event and not just what might happen to thenext ball). If a user wanted to bet on a number of segmentssimultaneously the game allows the player to swipe a larger area and theodds within each of the segments selected will merge and a new lower oddwill be displayed in the centre of the game for the player to eitheraccept or reject.

At any point where a player has selected to place a bet the game willoffer a number of standard stakes to be wagered. These can be eithermonetary or points based on which type of game is being played (Play forFree or Play for Money).

Each player has a wallet that will keep constant track of their winningsand losings. This updates in real time and their result will bepresented to the user in their own profile page and on a variety ofleaderboards. Throughout the game, players can keep up to date with thescore, and ball-by-ball commentary.

Players can compete with others on either the global leaderboard whichincludes all players on any platform, current match leaderboard whichonly takes those players who are active for any given game or a closedleaderboard for private play.

On the occasion where there are two or more live sports matches ongoingat the same time, players of Roulette Cricket can bet on multiple gamesat the same time. Their wallet will keep up to date with all betsregardless of which game the player is watching at any time

The data provider sends the bet data o a server to determine if the betis won or lost. For instance, determining if a bet is won or lost willinclude the server receiving the user data as well as receiving theoutcome data and comparing the user data with the outcome data so as togenerate a result, wherein the result is determinative of whether thebet is won or lost. The outcome data may be provided to the server by adata provider, such as by a reporting agency, which reporting agencyreports whether an event has occurred. Once a bet is won or lost, themethod may further include making a payout if the bet is won, andreceiving a payment if the bet is lost.

In yet a further embodiment each client device is configured to transmitsaid user data to the server, said user data identifying a givenindividual projection and bet type that is associated with one or moreportions of the boundary The said server may comprise an adjudicatorconfigured to compare said bet data received from said clients with saidoutcome data received by said adjudicator and to identify given userdata as constituting a winning bet if the bet type corresponds to theactual portion of the boundary in the outcome data for said givenindividual projection or else to identify said bet data as constitutinga losing bet.

Thus the invention also relates to a computerised system for playing abetting game, comprising the apparatus as previously described and aplurality of game clients, wherein each game client is arranged totransmit said bet data to the apparatus, said bet data identifying agiven Individual micro-event and bet type that is associated with one ormore regions of the field of play. The system can further comprise oneor more data sources arranged to send micro-event data to the apparatus.

In another interrelated aspect, a computer readable medium is provided.The computer readable medium may contain code, which when executed by aprocessor provides operations. The operations provided includegenerating a page for presentation at a user interface. For instance,where the page includes a representation of a cricket field and aboundary that is divided into one or more segments. The operationsfurther include providing the generated page.

The computer-readable medium can comprise a program which can beexecuted to implement the following steps to run a betting game in whichusers can bet on a micro-event which occurs during a sporting eventreceiving micro-event data in real time relating to a sporting event,which sporting event involves the repeated occurrence of a micro-eventin variable regions of a field of play and the micro-event datacomprising data fields relating to each individual occurrence andincluding an identification of an actual region of the field of playwhere the micro-event occurs; determining a result of the micro-eventusing the micro-event data and a set of stored rules; receivingbet-placing data from one or more users, the bet-placing dataidentifying a given individual occurrence of a micro-event and a bettype that are associated with a region of the field of play; andcomparing said received bet data with said result to identify given betdata as constituting a winning bet if the bet type corresponds to theactual region of the field of play in the micro-event data for saidgiven individual occurrence or else to identify said bet data asconstituting a losing bet.

Accordingly, the implementation of the methods of the disclosure mayinclude: the use of one or more clients and/or one or more dataproviders (which may comprise one or more of a computer, an electronicgame counsel, a telephone, a personal data assistant (PDA), or thelike), upon which the generated page is displayed; a server, and/or anetwork connecting the client and/or data provider to the server. Hence,articles are described that comprise a tangibly embodiedmachine-readable medium embodying instructions that, when performed,cause one or more machines (e.g., computers, etc.) to result inoperations described herein. Similarly, computer systems are alsodescribed that may include a processor and a memory coupled to theprocessor. The memory may include one or more programs that cause theprocessor to perform one or more of the operations described herein.

In one aspect, a method is provided. The method includes generating apage for presentation as at an interface, such as a user interface. Thepage includes a representation of a spoiling event to be played forexample a cricket field and a boundary wherein the boundary is dividedinto one or more segments. The method further includes providing thegenerated page, for instance, at the user interface. The user interfacemay be provided at one or more clients, such as a game client, whichclient may additionally be configured for receiving user input, forinstance, input pertaining to a bet.

The method of running a betting game in which users can bet on amicro-event which occurs during a sporting event, can also comprise:receiving micro-event data in real time relating to a sporting event,which sporting event involves the repeated occurrence of a micro-eventin variable regions of a field of play and the micro-event datacomprising data fields relating to each individual occurrence andincluding an identification of an actual region of the field of playwhere the micro-event occurs; determining a result of the micro-eventusing the micro-event data and a set of stored rules; receivingbet-placing data from one or more users, the bet-placing dataidentifying a given individual occurrence of a micro-event and a bettype that are associated with a region of the field of play; andcomparing said received bet data with said result to identify given betdata as constituting a winning bet if the bet type corresponds to theactual region of the field of play in the micro-event data for saidgiven individual occurrence or else to identify said bet data asconstituting a losing bet.

The details of one or more variations of the subject matter describedherein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the descriptionbelow. Other features and advantages of the subject matter describedherein will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from theclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A-B illustrates a representation of a page of the disclosureincluding a cricket field overlaid with a boundary, wherein the boundaryis divided into segments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a system 100 for playing cricketroulette;

FIG. 3 depicts a process 300 for generating the page of FIG, 1,

FIG. 4 depicts a process for determining whether a bet is won or lost,and

FIGS. 5A-5C, 6A-6F, 7, 8, 9A-9B, 10, 11, 12A-12G, 13, 14 depict anexemplary client including a user interface displaying various pagesthat have been generated by the game client; and

FIG. 15 illustrates the block diagram showing the functionality of thesystem.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The subject matter described herein relates to the playing of a bettinggame and, more particularly, to the playing of a betting game whereinthe bet corresponds to a result in a sporting event, such as cricketmatch. In one aspect there is provided a method. The method may includegenerating a page for presentation at a user interface. As can be seenwith respect to FIG. 1A-B, the page may include a representation of afield 10, such as a cricket field, upon which a match is played, such asa cricket match. FIG. 1A relates to the screen whereas FIG. 1B depictsthe same screen as hosted on a client device. At least a portion of thefield may be divided from another portion of the field by a boundary,thereby forming a playing portion 20 and a boundary portion 30 of thefield. The boundary portion may further be divided into segments, asshown. For instance, the field may be a cricket field and the boundaryportion of the field may be segmented, numbered, and/or coloured so asto resemble a roulette wheel. The method may further include providingthe generated page at the user interface 112 of a client device 110.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary system 100 for playing a betting game. Thesystem includes a client device 110, having a user interface 112, anetwork 150, a server 180, and includes one or more data providers 190.The game client device 110 includes a user interface 112 for presentinga page, which page may include a representation of a cricket field thatis overlaid with a representation of a roulette wheel, as shown in FIGS.1A and 1B. The client 110 may be implemented as a processor including acomputer, an electronic game console, a phone, a personal data assistant(PDA), and the like. The client 110 may include one or more of aprocessor, a memory associated with the processor, a receiver,transmitter, a network interface, data entry mechanism, a display, andthe like.

A suitable data entry mechanism may be any suitable mechanism fortransmitting data, such as data entered by a user, to a memory of thedevice or an associated server. For instance, the data entry mechanismmay be a keyboard, mini keyboard, touchpad, voice recognition device,touch screen display, and the like. For example, in certain instancesthe game client device 110 includes a touch screen display wherein thedisplay presents a representation of a generated keyboard wherein datamay be entered into the devices by touching or lapping on therepresentation of the keys. In certain instances, the data to be enteredis in response to a query elicited from the client, such as a requestfor user information made by the client, and displayed at the display ofthe game client. The display may be of any suitable shape or size, suchas a flat panel, LCD, LED, type of display. An exemplary elicitation maybe, for instance, one or more of a request for user personalinformation, account information, a user preference, a user designation,a method of game play, a user selection, a user confirmation, and thelike. In one exemplary instance, the user input data, such as selectiondata, includes one or more of a bet or a request for information fromthe game client 100. The client device 110 may be configured forreceiving user entered data including initiating a game and placing betdata, processing, storing the same, and/or transmitting that data to theserver system 180.

Accordingly, in one instance, the client 110, such as a suitable gamedevice, is provided wherein the game device is configured for displayinga game interface. Specifically, the game device is configured forgenerating a representation of a sporting field, such as a cricketfield, upon which field a match, such as a cricket match, is to beplayed; and further configured for proving that representation to thegame interface associated there with, for instance at a display thereof.The representation of the field includes at least one boundary thatseparates the field into at least two portions at least one portion ofwhich is divided into segments. For example, the field may be a cricketfield the outer circumference of which forms a boundary portion, whereinthe boundary portion is divided into segments, such as depicted in FIG.1.

The segments typically cover an equal amount of area, and thus theboundary is equally divided into segments. However, in certaininstances, the segments may not cover an equal amount of area, and thus,the boundary may not be equally divided. Each segment may represent apredetermined value. The predetermined value, for instance, mayrepresent the probability that a hit projectile will cross that segmentand/or may reflect a payout if the hit projectile actually crosses thatsegment, which payout may be based upon the determined probability. See,for instance, FIG. 1A-B. The predetermined value may represent a simplecalculation as to the probability that the projectile will cross a givensegment divided by the total number of possible segments that theprojectile could cross; or may be a more complex calculation taking intoaccount one or more of the teams playing, statistics pertaining to thethrower, statistics pertaining to the batsman, the quality of the pitch,the quality of the field, the conditions of the field, the conditions ofthe weather, the time of the day, the time of the game, and the like,any of which can affect the probability that a hit projectile will crossa given segment of the boundary. Thus, in certain instances, thepredefined value further represents the calculated odds that the hitprojectile will cross into the segment as against all other segments. Inone instance, if a hit projectile actually crosses the segment thesegment may be triggered, such as by lighting up, flashing, changingcolour, and the like.

The game device 110 may further be configured for receiving bet datafrom a user, such as bet data pertaining to a prediction as to whichsegment of the boundary a hit projectile will cross, for instance duringplay of the game, as well as an amount to be wagered; and configured fortransmitting the bet data to the server 180. The sender 180, thereforeis configured for receiving the data from the game client 110, via thenetwork 150 such as the internet.

The system 100 includes a server 180, as indicated above. The server 180may be implemented as one or more processors, such as a computer, aserver, and the like. For instance, the server 180 may include one ormore of a processor, a memory associated with the processor, a receiver,a transmitter, a network interface, a data entry mechanism, a displayand the like. The client is coupled to the server 180 through a network150. Detailed operation of the server 180 will be discussed below withrespect to FIG. 15.

The system 100 additionally includes a data provider 190 that is alsocoupled to the server 180 through the network 150. A data provider maybe any suitable device capable of transmitting data, such as datapertaining to a result of a sporting match to the system 100, such asthose commonly known in the art, including a computer, an electronicgame council, a phone, a personal data assistant (PDA), and the like.The data provider 190 may include one or more of a processor, a memoryassociated with the processor, a receiver, a transmitter, a data entrymechanism, a display, and the like. The network may be any suitablemechanism for connecting one or both of the client 110 and the dataprovider 190 to the server 180, such as an intranet or an internet(which may include wired and/or wireless links).

The data provider may be operated by an individual, for example anindividual watching a sporting event. It may also be operated by acommercial data provider, e.g. Crickbuzz or by the sports ground itself.The data can be obtained by various means such as human observation ormultiple cameras distributed around the sports ground whose images arecaptured and processed into a data stream which can be picked up by adata provider such as those exampled above.

FIG. 3 provides an illustration of the process 300 for generating a pageat a user interface provided by the server 180. At 310 the processincludes generating a page, for instance, a page that includes arepresentation of a playing field upon which a sporting game may beplayed. For example, the page may include a cricket field that isrepresentative of a cricket field upon which a cricket match is being,has been, or is to be played. The depicted cricket field or other sportsfield is overlaid with a representation of a boundary, such as aboundary that has been divided up equally or unequally into segments.The segments may be representative of a corresponding patch of fieldupon which the actual cricket match is played. At 320 the generated pageis provided at the user interface and a user therefore may interact withthe generated page so as to place a bet. For example, the segments ofthe boundary overlaying the cricket field may represent a possibleoutcome of a play of the game.

Specifically, each segment may represent the possibility that a hitprojectile will cross into that segment during the play of the game.Accordingly, a user may make a prediction and a bet as to which of thesegments a hit projectile will cross, such as by selecting a givensegment and wager amount. As indicated above, the segments may benumbered and/or coloured in any suitable manner, for instance, in amanner so as to resemble a roulette wheel.

FIG. 4 depicts a process 400 for playing the electronic betting game.The process includes the receiving of one or more of bet and/or resultdata and the using of that data in determining whether a bet is won orlost. In a given instance, the betting game may be structured in amanner similar to roulette wherein bets are made, and the game may beplayed in such a manner that a result in a sporting match isdeterminative of whether the bet is won or lost. In certain instances,an exemplary sporting match that may be played and/or watched incombination with the betting aspect of the game may be cricket and anexemplary result is the location on the boundary (and hence a segment ofthe boundary) which a boundary is hit to. However, it is understood thatthe game may be played in association with any sporting match that takesplace on a field having a boundary over which a ball must pass so as toregister a score, such as baseball, soccer, football, and the like.

For instance, at 410, bet data is received at the server 180 from aclient, such as game client 110. At 420, outcome data is received at theserver system 180 from a 3rd party data provider, such as data provider190. Accordingly, in one instance, a data provider 190 is providedwherein the data provider is configured for receiving, storing, and/ortransmitting data to the server system 180. For instance, a dataprovider may be any suitable source of information provider so long asthey are capable of making a determination, predicted, computed, actual,or otherwise, regarding whether and where an object, such as a hit orkicked ball, crosses a boundary.

For example, the data provider 190 may be configured for supplying tothe server system 180 actual outcome data that is related to the actualsegment of the boundary the struck projectile crosses. This informationmay be transmitted via an electronic device, such as a computer,telephone, game counsel, PDA, and the like. In one exemplary instance,the data provider 190 may include a computerized and/or handheld devicethrough which actual outcome data is provided either directly orindirectly to the server system.

Accordingly, the data provider 190 may be configured similar to theclient 110, however, instead of bet data being entered therein, actual(e.g. observed) outcome data is entered and/or transmitted to theserver. For instance, the data provider may be configured for generatingand displaying a page at a data provider user interface, wherein thegenerated page includes a representation of a game field as describedabove. However, with respect to the data provider, the data to be inputinto the data provider, and/or transmitted thereby, is primarilydirected not to a bet pertaining to a prediction of where a hitprojectile will cross the boundary, but rather to an estimation as towhere the hit projectile actually crosses the boundary, and as such, theentered data is actual outcome data. “Actual outcome data,” as used inthis manner, may mean a predicted, approximated (e.g., observed) outcomeor an actual computer generated outcome of a result. For instance, thedata provider may make a prediction as to the outcome of an event (suchas a ball crossing the boundary), which prediction is based on anobservation or a calculation, or the data provider may make adetermination based on one or more sensors that are configured forconclusively determining the outcome of the event. For example, the dataprovider may use a combination of camera data and calculations based onknowledge of the ground. In either instance, the data provider isconfigured for providing that data as outcome data to the server system180.

At 430, the bet data from 410 is compared to the outcome data at 420 soas to generate a result. For instance, the server 180 may include aprocessor that includes programming configured for compiling dataobtained from one or more clients 110 and/or one or more data providers190, comparing the same, and generating an outcome in accordance withone or more rules of the system. This is described in more detail belowwith respect to FIG. 15.

At 440, the results generated at 430 may then be transmitted and/ordisplayed, for instance at one or more of a display of the serversystem, the game client, and/or the data provider.

As described herein with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4, a single client, asingle data provider, and a single server have been set forth. However,it is understood that a plurality of clients, data providers, and/orservers may be provided. For instance, where a plurality of clientsand/or data providers are provided, the server may include programmingadapted to weight one or more of the bet and the actual outcome data.

For example, where a plurality of clients are provided the server 180may be configured for processing and compiling the bet data so as togenerate odds data, which odds data may then be provided to one or moreof the server, the clients, and/or the data provider. In one instance,the odds data may be related to a weight given to particular bet dataobtained from one client over the weight given to a bet obtained fromanother client. In such an instance, the odds data may pertain to theoutcome provided, e.g., selected, by more than one client. The servermay generate such odds data, or a client itself may generate odds data.

Additionally, where a plurality of data providers are provided theserver may be configured for compiling and weighting the input from onedata provider against another data provider. For instance, where theactual outcome data provided by a particular data provider pertains toan estimation of a given outcome, such as where a projectile crosses aboundary, the provided data may be weighted by the system server. Thedata may be weighted according to whether the estimated outcome comportswith what actually happens, i.e., where the projectile actually crossesthe boundary. Accordingly, if the estimated, e.g., predicted, outcomedoes actually occur, more weight is given to a future designation bythat data provider, however, if the predicted outcome does not actuallyoccur, less weight is given to the future data provided by thatparticular data provider. Hence, where a plurality of data providers areprovided, they may be ranked according to the weight attributed to theiroutcome data. An accuracy rating of each individual data provider, eachindividual game client, a collection of data providers, and/or acollection of game clients may be generated, e.g. based on the compileddata, by the server system 180.

Accordingly, the server 180 may be configured for compiling the dataprovided by the data providers and not only determining whether a bet iswon or lost, but also for ranking the data providers and/or success ofthe individual users operating the client devices, e.g., betters. Thecompiling of the data provided by the data providers may includeweighting the data, ranking the data providers or users, and generatingan accuracy rating based on the compiled data. Hence, with respect tothe data provider data, the server system may use the compiled data togenerate an overall predicted outcome of play of a game and/or anoverall accuracy rating associated therewith, such as an accuracy ratingthat pertains to the percentage of times that the overall predictedoutcome of play corresponds with an actual outcome of play. Furtherdetails of these functions will be described below with respect to FIG.15.

It is further to be noted that as described the betting game is playedin conjunction with the concurrent play of an underlying sporting match,such as a cricket match. However, it is not necessary that theunderlying sporting match actually be played concurrently. For instance,the underlying sporting match may be a game that has been played in thepast, the results of which have been electronically stored, or may be asimulation of a game to be played in the future, the results of whichare calculated and/or predicted by use of a computer. In otherembodiments, the underlying game may simply be a simulation of a gamethat is generated and played out by a computer.

FIGS. 5-15 provide an exemplary aspect of how a betting game may beplayed in accordance with the methods and apparatuses of the disclosure.It is to be understood that although a particular exemplary embodimentis set forth herein, the method and apparatuses described may bedifferent and/or be configured in a different manner.

Accordingly, in one instance, a game client 500 is provided, which is aspecific embodiment of the game client 110 depicted in FIG. 2. In thisinstance, the game client 500 is configured as a processor (e.g., acomputerized, personal data assistant), having a display 502. Thedisplay 502 is configured for both displaying received and/or generatedinformation, and further configured for receiving user input. Forinstance, the display is configured for touch-screen data entry. Thedevice may further include a navigation tool 504. Although a navigationtool is provided as element 504, the touch screen display may further beconfigured to provide touch screen navigation, so as to allow a user tonavigate from one screen page to another either via the navigation toolor via direct interaction with the screen. In certain implementations,the navigation tool or the touch screen functionality need not beincluded.

In accordance with the methods of the disclosure, the game client 500 isconfigured for generating one or more pages. As can be seen with respectto FIG. 5A, the game may be played in a single player mode 506 or amultiplayer mode 508.

Accordingly, in a first instance, the game client may generate a firstpage, e.g., 502, which page requests the user to select a single playermode 506, a multiplayer mode 508, and/or to provide user information 512to the system. The request for user information may include any userpertinent information, such as user identification information, loginpass-word information, account information, monetary information, orother information that may be used to identify a given user, to place abet, and the like. This or another page may also allow the user torequest information 510A, such as instructions pertaining to how to playthe game or news related information 510B.

As can be seen with respect to FIG. 5B, once a particular account hasbeen set up and/or a player mode selected by a user, a user's personalaccount screen 520 may be generated and presented by the game client500. It is to be noted that the data pertaining to an individual user'saccount may be stored locally in a memory of the game client and/or onthe server system. The user's personal account screen 520 may includeinformation pertaining to the mode of play 522, the playeridentification 524, and account information 526, and informationpertaining to one or more games 528, 536, such as one or more cricketgames, currently being played (e.g., locally, in a given country, orglobally), which games may be accessed, and bet upon by the game userand/or information pertaining to the game requested. Once a game isselected, the selected game may be presented at this or another page aswell.

From this, or another screen, see for instance FIG. 5C, one or moreplayer profiles 530 may be accessed, which player profiles may includeinformation as to a given game client user's historic data, e.g., usedata, statistics data, and/or personal information. For instance, thestatistics data of the individual user or of other game players may beaccessed. In certain instances, a rank or leader board data 534 may bepresented. It is to be noted that where a given screen identifies othergame client users, that user's information, including statistics,profile, e-mail address, etc. may be accessed, and in certain instances,that user may be communicated with, for instance, by messaging, phoning,or the like, such as by tapping on or otherwise selecting the particularusers identification. A game client user's personal score 536 may alsobe presented at this or another page.

Once a game client's user account has been set up and a game to be beton selected, such as a cricket match currently being played or to beplayed, the game client device 500 generates a graphical representationof a game field, having a representation of segmented boundariesoverlaid thereon, which graphical representation is provided to a userinterface of the game client device 500 for display to a user. As can beseen with reference to FIG. 6A-F, in certain instances, the underlyingsporting match being played is cricket but the system could work withother sports or events.

In this instance, a representation of a cricket field 10 is provided,which representation may include a pitch 3, a field of play 20, and aboundary 30, wherein one or more portions of the field may be overlaidwith a roulette wheel. In this manner the field, or more particularlythe boundary, may be divided into segments. It is to be understood thatthe underlying sporting event need not be cricket but may be anysuitable sporting event, such as baseball, soccer, football, and thelike with accommodating changes being made to the graphicalrepresentation of the field and boundaries. In such an instance, acomplete or partial roulette wheel, or other mechanism for dividing thefield and/or boundaries into segments, may also be provided, e.g.,graphically.

FIG. 6A presents a rendition of such a page 602 displaying a graphicaluser interface that may be provided to the client 600. A graphicalinterface such as this may be employed by a user of the game client 600so as to make a bet, for instance, by selecting a segment of theboundary 30 a predicted projectile will cross when hit: and to place awager in association with that prediction. Accordingly, FIG. 6A presentsa typical betting screen 602, wherein a user can interact with thescreen 602 of the display so as to place a bet, for instance, byselecting a portion, e.g., a segment, of the boundary over which theuser predicts a hit projectile will cross, as well as entering an amountto be wagered thereon. The screen 602 may also display one or morenavigation keys so as to facilitate the navigation to other screens suchas a player profile screen button 636 or a bet status button 636.

As shown in FIG. 6B, a user may select a given segment, such as 630A,upon which to place a bet, for instance, by either using a toggle 604 orby tapping the touch screen at the selected segment. Once a selectedsegment has been demarcated odds data 632 pertaining to the chance thatthe hit projectile will cross that segment of the boundary may bedisplayed. Further, bet data 634 pertaining to an amount that is to bewagered may be entered and displayed. As can be seen with respect toFIG. 6C, once a bet has been placed, a player profile value select box640 may be displayed.

FIG. 60-6F illustrate various types of bets that may be made, forinstance, by tapping and/or swiping on multiple segments of the screenand/or using the toggle to do the same. In such a manner one or aplurality of segments, such as 630A-F, may be selected and demarcated asa potential bet designator. As seen with respect to FIG. 6E, a pluralityof segments may be selected, for instance, where the segments areadjoining, such as 630D, or not adjoining, such as 630E. In a mannersuch as this, several different types of bets may be made and outcomedata determined in relation thereto. For instance, a bet pertaining to apredicted outcome may be made. The bet may be of whether a batsmanactually hits a projectile for a given throw, e.g., bowl, or whether thebatsman will be able to hit the projectile over any boundary generallyor a specific boundary specifically. In such an instance, actual outcomedata will pertain to whether the batter actually hits the projectile,whether if hit the projectile crosses a boundary, and may furtherpertain to which specific boundary the hit projectile crosses. Thisactual outcome data may then be provided to the game client 500 fordisplay there at. Additionally, the segments may alternatively bedesignated into two groups, and a bet pertaining to which group theprojectile when hit crosses may be made. In such an instance, the actualoutcome data will pertain to whether or not the hit projectile crossesinto a boundary of the selected group. The segments may also be numberedand a bet may be placed on one or more numbers or on “odds” or “evens.”In such an instance, the actual outcome data will pertain to whether ornot the hit projectile crosses into a boundary of the segment with theselected number or “odds” or “even” group. As set forth above, the gameserver 180 determines whether a bet is won or lost by comparing the betdata as to the predicted outcome from the game client with the actualoutcome data provided by the data provider(s) and generates an outcomeresult as to whether a bet is won or lost and/or an outcome result as towhether the projectile is hit and crosses a boundary and if so overwhich boundary the hit projectile crosses. This information may then beprovided for display by the game server 180, game client 500, and/ordata provider 190. Accordingly, the ball by ball trajectory may bemapped graphically, for instance, at the client interface, throughoutthe course of the game so as to track the game's progress. An accuracyrating for any given batter may also be displayed.

As can be seen with respect to FIG. 6F. once one or more segments havebeen selected and demarcated, a bet confirmation screen 642 may bedisplayed so as to confirm the user selected segment(s). In a mannersimilar to this, an amount to be wagered may be entered and confirmed.Bets are made before the projectile is bowled and therefore at a givenperiod of time before the projectile is bowled or otherwise thrown thebetting window is closed. The bets and/or predicted results of one ormore users may then be displayed prior to the projectile being thrownand prior to the results of the batsman and the reporting thereof by thedata provider.

FIG. 13 illustrates that once a player has selected a segment ormultiple segments an indicator will appear giving the user the odds forthe selection and the choice to select the amount of credits or realmoney the player would wish to select. The player also has theopportunity to cancel the selection, which if pressed will return theuser to the game screen FIG. 6A.

With respect to the game of cricket, and as illustrated in FIG. 7, abatsman, represented as a bat 5, positioned on the pitch 3 attempts tostrike a projectile and send it over boundary 30. Typically, in cricket,two batsmen stand on opposite ends of the pitch. However, only onebatsman bats at a time. Once a first batsman is out, the bowler switchessides and then bowls to the second batsman. When this happens therepresentation of the bat 5 switches to the opposite end of the pitch 3and the representation of the boundary 30 rotates correspondingly.Architecture 7 remains in place. It is to be noted that from this oranother screen, game, sports team, and/or sport player information maybe accessed, such as information pertaining to the statistics of anindividual athlete, for instance, by deselecting, e.g., via tapping on,the representation of the bat 5. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the bat 5 maybe selected so as to bring up various statistics 9 pertaining to thebatter, such as the batter's current or past boundaries.

FIG, 9A and B show a status and/or notification bar 11A and 11B that maybe compressed or expanded, respectively, e.g., by tapping or the like.User bet, statistic, profile information and/or the like may bedisplayed on the bars 11A, 11B. As shown in FIG. 10 the overall statusof the match (e.g., match ended, lunch break, etc.) may be displayed asan overlay 13.

As shown in FIG. 11 an actual result indicating the actual boundarysegment, e.g., 36A, that the projectile crosses may be displayed, andthe result of the bet, e.g., won or loss, may also be indicated at thenotification bar 11. Once winners have been allocated, the losers willhave their accounts depleted in relation to the amounts of the bets theylost, and the winners will have their accounts increased in relation tothe amounts of the bets they won. The bet money will stay on the pitchduring the game where balls are being bowled at the batsman until aboundary of a four or six is scored and a bet is either won or lost. Itwill be appreciated by those skilled in the art that if the sport is adifferent sport from cricket, the bet being either won or lost will bedetermined at a suitable juncture of the game which depends on thenature and rules of the sport.

Another example of a sport to which the present system could be appliedis baseball. In this case, a bet would be placed on whereabouts over thefence the ball will be hit when the next home run is scored. Thus theregion of the fence inside the foul lines is divided into segments in asimilar manner to the cricket boundary. A winning event would be placingthe bet on the segment that the ball was determined to be hit into, asprovided by the outcome data from one or more data providers 190 aspreviously described. Because the foul lines on a baseball pitch make a90 region in which a home run ball can be hit, four baseball grounds canbe provided within one overlaid roulette wheel. Thus a user of theclient 500 can monitor and place bets on four baseball gamessimultaneously and can win or lose a bet on any of those games whenevera home run is scored on any of those games.

Another example of a sport to which the present system could be appliedis golf. In this case, the putting green for a hole of a course would bedivided up into areas and a user would place a bet on which area theball of the next shot hit would end up. Thus a winning event would bewhen the golf ball's trajectory ends up within the particular area beton. This could be determined from the outcome data from one or more dataproviders, particularly those with suitable camera feeds able to obtaina birds' eye view of the green. In this case, the display of the gamecould be generated to depict a representation of the green with thesegments overlaid they would not necessarily need to be shown around theoutside of a roulette wheel as for cricket and baseball. Informationwould be generated from data provided by the one or more data providers190 to inform the user of the gradient of each segment this informationcould be included in the representation of the green and the odds couldbe varied in dependence on the gradient adversity in a particular area.

Another example of a sport to which the present system could be appliedis horseracing. In this case, the racecourse would be divided intofurlongs and fences, which could be represented with a roulette wheeloverlaid as racecourses are generally circular. A user would place a beton, for example, which horse will be ahead at the end of a particularfurlong or on which fence a particular horse will fall etc. Thus awinning event would be placing a bet on the horse which is determined tobe ahead at the end of a given furlong, or correct selection of a fenceat which a particular horse falls. The information for determining awinning bet would be provided by outcome data from one or more dataproviders 190 as previously described. As well as variation based onpreviously-mentioned factors, the odds data in this case could beupdated if, for example, a horse stumbles or the weather changes(racecourse becoming wet for example).

It will be appreciated that the system described could be implementedbased on many more sports and that a suitable event on which users canbet would vary according to the sport. The system allows users to bet ona “micro event” within a sports game, not necessarily the final resultof that game. The system allows repeated betting on events throughoutthe match or race and thus the user's interest is maintained by means ofthe visually interactive display generated and the continual use ofoutcome data, The events which users can bet on occur as a normal partof the sporting event and thus the system is most suited to for “in-playbetting” rather than general “spot betting”. The micro-events being beton tend to be unpredictable in character.

FIG. 14 illustrates the visual indication to the player once a boundaryhas been scored. In cricket, this could be either a 4 or a 6.

FIG. 12A-G illustrates a multiplayer mode for the game where players canplay on a single device, as mentioned previously with reference to FIG.5A. In this mode a plurality of users may play against one another aswell as making bets with respect to which boundaries will be hit. Forinstance, FIG. 12A illustrates a plurality of boxes representing users13A-C which may be added to the game. To add a player, the player's boxmay be selected, e.g., by tapping or toggling, and then the add playerbox 15 may be selected. Once the chosen players have been selected thestart game box 17 may be selected so as to start the game. Alsodisplayed on this screen may be the main menu 19 and add information 21boxes. FIG. 12B illustrates that a player once selected to join amultiplayer game may be deselected by selecting the edit box 23.

FIG. 12C illustrates one embodiment pertaining to how information, suchas information related to a player profile, may be added, for instance,by tapping on a representation of a keyboard 23 displayed on the screen10. Once the player profile has been set up, the personal profile box 24may also be displayed. Save and cancel boxes 27 and 29 may also bedisplayed for saving and/or cancelling entered data.

FIG. 12D illustrates a current multiplayer game wherein a representationof the field 1 is displayed along with current players 13A-D. It isnoted that current player box 13 also indicates each player's score. Asindicated in FIG. 12E, each player, e.g., 13A, is individuallydemarcated, such as by a selected colour, and given a turn to select aboundary and/or to make a wager thereon. The selection and/or bet of theplayer, e.g., 13A, will be demarcated by the same designation, e.g.,colour, as the user.

As seen with respect to FIG. 12F, once one player has made a selectionthe next player, e.g., 13B, makes a selection 36B, in the manner setforth above. The players may be managed by a player manage box 31.

FIG. 12G illustrates the player manage screen 2. The player managescreen 2 illustrates the status of the various players in themultiplayer game. For instance, status bars 40A-C represents variousembodiments of a status of a game. For example, at a status bar 40A thewinning score 43 is displayed above the winning player's designated box.At a status bar 40B the activity level of the players is indicated. Asindicated by a designation, player three 47 is inactive. At a status bar40C a designation 45 indicates that player one has made a bet. A statusbar 46 indicates that all players are active, but that no bets have beenmade.

FIG. 15 illustrates a block diagram showing the functionality of thecomputerised system used in embodiments of the invention. It will beappreciated by those skilled In the art that the various components ofthe system are shown for illustrative purposes but that in practice,some or all of the functions may be carried out by fewer or morehardware components such as various processors and memories or that someor all functions may be implemented in software.

In general terms, the figure shows a data feed 710 as input into theserver 180. A first input/output into the server 180 is an exemplaryclient device 110. In practice, multiple client devices 110 could beconnected to the server 180 via the network 150, but a single device isshown for simplicity. A second input/output to the server 180 is acustomer device 800, via an interface 750. Again, multiple customerdevices 800 could connect to the server 180 via a network such as thenetwork 150, but a single device 180 is shown for illustrative purposes.

Within the server 180 is a feed content receiver and transformer 700,connected to a database importer 703, which in turn is connected to afeed collator 701. The feed collator 701 is connected to an adjudicator702, which is also connected to a results publisher and query service705.

Each of the feed content receiver and transformer 700, the databaseimporter 703, the feed collator 701 and the results publisher and queryservice 705 are also shown to be connected to an audit archive 704. Theabove-mentioned first two-way connection to a customer device 800 is aconnection into the audit archive 704. The feed collator 701 and theresults publisher and query service 705 are also shown to be connectedto a client-side module 706, which may be implemented as a sandbox. Theabove-mentioned second two-way connection to a client device 110 is aconnection into the client-side module 706.

The feed content receiver and transformer 700 comprises a feed listener706 and a feed puller 708 The feed listener 706 is configured to acceptoutcome data from a plurality of sources. Such sources may be inputdirectly from sporting events organisers or be provided by reportingagencies. Outcome data such as for example sporting data, can be foundin a number of places. In one embodiment the computerised systemdescribed herein takes one outcome data source or multiple outcome datasources at the same time. These one or more data sources are showncollectively as the data feed 710, which is derived from the third partydata providers 190 shown in FIG. 2.

To ensure the very latest data has been taken the system adopts a“push/pull” technique whereby the feed content receiver and transformer700 defines a minimum lag between each scheduled data update. Theoutcome data is “pushed” by the sources of outcome data to the feedcontent receiver 700 via the feed listener 706 at predefined variableintervals. The feed puller 708 is set to work at predefined variableintervals to extract i.e. “pull” the outcome data from the sources inthe absence of the data being pushed.

In one such embodiment the computerised system as described herein usesa “feed puller” 708. The feed puller 708 pulls on a regular basis fromeach outcome source and takes the latest feed. If however an update isavailable between the scheduled “pull” update said listener interface706 provides an alternative method for receiving the data and willaccept an update on a “feed push” or ad-hoc basis, in dependence on whenany particular data source has an update available and can schedulesending it to the server 180. This combination of the feed listener andfeed pull allows the system to be provided with the very latest dataavailable and reduces the time lag (or latency) that some updates mayexperience.

The feed puller and feed listener may push or pull data at an intervalof approximately once a week, or once a day, or once every 3 hours, oronce every hour, or once every minute, or once every 30 seconds, or onceevery 15 seconds, or h once every 10 seconds, or once every second, oronce every 0.5 seconds. In a preferred embodiment the feed contentreceiver and transformer may push or pull data approximately everysecond. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the feedlistener 706 can be set up to receive data at this interval or any othersuitable interval but that it may not actually receive data that oftenas receipt of data depends on data being sent from the data feed 710.The feed listener can be in a “ready” state to accept data whenever itis available, but in the event that a significant amount of data arrivesat once, it may need to be buffered either in a buffer memory of thefeed listener 706 or in a buffer of the data feed 710. The feed puller708 can be set up to poll for data at any interval to maximise the speedof entry of new data into the system. It could be set up to poll fordata at the same times as the feed listener 706 is set to receive dataor it could be set up to poll at different times so as to increase thelikelihood of picking up data between scheduled feeds from the data feed710. Thus latency in the system is minimised.

Once the outcome data arrives into the system, the Feed Content Receiverand Transformer 700 manages the receipt of the outcome data andtransforms the feed data into a common format for import and managementwithin a database. This allows the system to accept multiple sourcesfrom different destinations and for those data feeds to be managed in acommon way. For example, data packet headers are analysed so thatdifferent sizes and formats of packets can be stored in a common format.

Once the outcome data has been converted into a common format it isimported by the database importer 703 and is met by the feed collator701 that observes the arrival of data. It will be understood that the“push/pull” system described above can give rise to duplication of datain the event that the feed puller 708 polls for data substantiallysimultaneously or some time before or after the feed listener 706receives the same data. The feed collator 101 verifies that the correctinformation has been received to determine a result of an event, filtersout any duplicated data and ensures no “gaps” in the data exist. If anydata is missing, for example data from a particular data source or partof the necessary data from a particular source, the feed collator 701requests the missing data this request is passed up via the databaseimporter 703 and the feed content receiver and transformer 700 and outto the relevant data provider through the data feed 710. When themissing data is subsequently received, it is collated with the existingdata for that particular result. The feed collator 701 also takes intoaccount information on closure of betting for a particular event toassist in matching data from an outcome to the timeframe in which gameplayers were placing bets. This betting closure input is shown as a box712 in the connection between the feed collator 701 and the client-sidemodule 706. Thus the feed collator 701 produces a single set of data foreach event on which betting has occurred, which can then be transmittedon within the system.

Having produced a set of data, the feed collator 701 transmits the datato the adjudicator 702. When a certain set of configured criteria issatisfied which will determine whether a specific outcome has beenachieved for example an event such as a boundary being scored incricket, the feed collator 701 then notifies the adjudicator that suchan outcome has been achieved. Thus this notification is transmitted aspart of the data for a particular result, although it could betransmitted separately.

If data has been received which turns out not to relate to a result of amicro-event (e.g. a ball has been hit but a boundary has not beenscored), the data can be sent directly to the client-side module 706,which can then send a message to the client devices informing them thatbetting is still on for the next micro-event.

The adjudicator 702 considers the notifications provided by the feedcollator 701. The consideration determines whether sufficient reliableinformation exists to provide a result. When the criteria have beensatisfied the adjudicator will determine the result based on the feeddata, the source of the data and a set of rules. The rules may useinformation relating to the reliability of the data source to affect howmuch influence that data source has on the result, as previouslydescribed.

When the adjudicator 702 has arrived at a result the result will bepublished through the system by the Results Publisher & Query Service705 to provide an interface for querying and reporting on results, asdescribed below The result is also transmitted to client devices 110,via the client-side module 706, This result can be provided as soon asit is ready and/or in response to a result query from the module 706 (asshown in a box 714). The result is provided to the client-side module706.

The client-side module 706 manages and stores data published from thesystem such as fixtures and game results alongside the client specificdata such as account information and profile data. This managing andstoring of data Is shown as various functions in FIG. 15 resultsarchive, current game results (up to date storage of the scores andevents which have been or can be bet on for all sports events currentlylive for betting), account setup (allows multiple users to set upaccounts with the system), fixtures (a database of sporting events whichcan be bet on using the system), my account (storing and manipulation ofdata specific to each user, including their credit), playing now (adatabase of sporting events which can be bet on at any particular time)and place bet (allows users to input a bet into the system, manipulatesbetting information and determines results for each user). Theclient-side module also manages bet-placing data in so far as itdetermines when to place bets on the next micro-event and when it is toolate for the next micro-event and bets must be carried over to thesubsequent micro-event.

All data within the client-side module 706 is then fed through an XMLAPI to ensure the language is correct for the client device, such asJSON or HTML, Thus the server 180 can interface with multiple clientdevices 110.

The module 706 compares the result data provided by the adjudicator tobet data received from the client devices 110 and determines which betshave won and which have lost. The module 706 sends a message to eachclient device 110 to inform the user of the device whether they have wonor lost a bet and this is displayed on the client device 110. An exampleof a possible display has been previously described with respect to FIG.14. The module 706 archives all results and also updates each user'saccount with the credits or money won or lost according to whether thebet has been won or lost. In this way, each user of a client device 110can be informed of their current credit and can also request informationon their credit by querying the “my account” function.

It can be understood that not all the data coming into the system willrelate directly to a result which can be bet on but rather, the datawill include non-result data, for example with respect to cricket, anindication of what happens each time a ball is bowled, even if the ballis not hit to the boundary. The feed collator 701 analyses each set ofincoming data to determine whether or not it relates to a result whichis open for betting on. If it does, the procedure described above ofpassing the data onto the adjudicator is implemented. If it does not,the data can be sent directly to the module 706 for archiving and forpassing onto the client devices 110. For example, a message can be sentto the client devices 110 informing the users that a certain number ofruns were scored off the last ball, or that a batsman is out. Thus userscan keep track of the game on their device even though the events beingreported do not constitute a result of any bet they have placed.

Throughout the data journey a full auditable archive 704 monitors andlogs each new piece of data. The archive provides a source of data forverifying the integrity of the processes and data within the system andcan be called up at any time. Because of its various connections toother functions within the server 180 it is able to receive all the datait needs to create a historical archive of the outcomes from multiplesporting events and which users won and lost bets on which events withineach sporting event In particular, the audit archive 704 receivesresults of events from the results publisher and query service 705. Theaudit archive 704 can then be queried by a customer device BOO via thecustomer interface 750. A user of a customer device 800 might bedifferent from a user of a client device 110. For example, it may be abetting company that uses the system and wants to find out statistics onthe betting results for its clients. Thus the interface 750 may be setup as a different access route into the server 180 than is used byclient devices 110, although in practice it could be provided using thesame hardware. The interface 750 is set up to access the audit archive704, whereas in the arrangement of FIG. 15, client devices 110 accessthe server 180 via the module 706.

The systems and methods disclosed herein may be embodied in variousforms including, for example, a data processor, such as a computer thatalso includes a database, digital electronic circuitry, firmware,software, or in combinations of them. Moreover, the above-noted featuresand other aspects and principles of the present disclosed embodimentsmay be implemented in various environments. Such environments andrelated applications may be specially constructed for performing thevarious processes and operations according to the disclosed embodimentsor they may include a general-purpose computer or computing platformselectively activated or reconfigured by code to provide the necessaryfunctionality. The processes disclosed herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer, network, architecture, environment, or otherapparatus, and may be implemented by a suitable combination of hardware,software, and/or firmware. For example, various general-purpose machinesmay be used with programs written in accordance with teachings of thedisclosed embodiments, or it may be more convenient to construct aspecialized apparatus or system to perform the required methods andtechniques.

The systems and methods disclosed herein may be implemented as acomputer program product, i.e., a computer program tangibly embodied inan information carrier, e.g., in a machine readable storage device or ina propagated signal, for execution by, or to control the operation of,data processing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor, a computer,or multiple computers. A computer program can be written in any form ofprogramming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, andit can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or asa module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use In acomputing environment. A computer program can be deployed to be executedon one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributedacross multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

Although the description above refers to a client and a server, otherframeworks and architectures may be used as well. For example, thesubject matter described herein may be implemented in a computing systemthat includes a back-end component (e.g., as a data server), or thatincludes a middleware component (e.g., an application server), or thatincludes a front-end component (e.g., a client computer having agraphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user mayinteract with an implementation of the subject matter described herein),or any combination of such back-end, middleware, or front-endcomponents.

As used herein, the term “user” may refer to any entity including aperson or a computer. The system and methods disclosed herein may alsobe implemented as a computerised system for playing a betting game, thesystem comprising a game server and a plurality of game clients. Thegame server is configured for receiving match data in real time relatingto the playing of a sports match from a data server and bet-placing datafrom the game clients. The sport involves the repeated projection of atleast one object by one or more players in a variable direction relativeto a field of play towards a boundary of the field of play, and thematch data comprises data fields relating to each individual projection,including an actual portion of the boundary where the object crosses theboundary. Each game client is configured to transmit the bet data to thegame server, the bet data identifying a given individual projection andbet type that is associated with one or more portions of the boundary.The game server is configured to compare the bet data received from thegame clients with the match data and to identify given bet data asconstituting a winning bet if the bet type corresponds to the actualportion of the boundary in the match data for the given individualprojection or else to identify the bet data as constituting a losingbet. The individual projection in the bet data can be the nextprojection.

The foregoing description is intended to illustrate but not to limit thescope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appendedclaims. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.The applicant draws attention to the fact that the present invention mayinclude any feature or combination of features disclosed herein eitherimplicitly or explicitly or any generalisation thereof, withoutlimitation to the scope of any of the present claims. In view of theforegoing description it will be evident to a person skilled in the artthat various modifications may be made within the scope of theinvention.

1. A computer-implemented apparatus for running a betting game in whichusers can bet on a micro-event which occurs during a sporting event, theapparatus comprising: a feed content receiver and transformer arrangedto receive micro-event data in real time relating to a sporting event,which sporting event involves the repeated occurrence of a micro-eventin variable regions of a field of play and the micro-event datacomprising data fields relating to each individual occurrence andincluding an identification of an actual region of the field of playwhere the micro-event occurs; an adjudicator arranged to: determine aresult of the micro-event using the micro-event data and a set of storedrules; and a client-side module arranged to: receive bet-placing datafrom one or more users, the bet-placing data identifying a givenindividual occurrence of a micro-event and a bet type that areassociated with a region of the field of play; and compare said receivedbet data with said determined result and to identify given bet data asconstituting a winning bet if the bet type corresponds to the actualregion of the field of play in the micro-event data for said givenindividual occurrence or else to identify said bet data as constitutinga losing bet. 2-33. (canceled)